House of the Day: 602 Willoughby Avenue
This three-story brownstone on Willoughby between Tompkins and Throop looks a lot nicer from the front than the back; the interior, despite being in need of work, still has some nice original doors and moldings. Nonetheless, we don’t think this will fly off the shelf, even at $649,000. First of all, it’s only 2,000 square…
This three-story brownstone on Willoughby between Tompkins and Throop looks a lot nicer from the front than the back; the interior, despite being in need of work, still has some nice original doors and moldings. Nonetheless, we don’t think this will fly off the shelf, even at $649,000. First of all, it’s only 2,000 square feet, so it’s not super cheap on a per square foot basis; secondly, the location probably falls outside of the boundaries of where people who are just priced out of Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill want to be. For the time being, at least, we think the nicer houses in better parts of Bed Stuy in the $850,000 to $1 million range will move faster than the cheaper places in more fringe areas.
602 Willoughby Avenue [Fillmore] GMAP P*Shark
I lived on that block in 2001. It’s beautiful and tree-lined. If that’s the house I think it is, it was vacant at the time — the only vacant house on the block. Agree there’s some iffy action on the corner of Throop (or was), but as a resident it didn’t affect us one way or the other. It’s also really close to the J and G trains and walkable to the A. In terms of convenience, you could do a lot worse.
Hey folks, some of those comments are terribly myopic. Look at the larger picture, if you will. In the near future, any neighborhood within 15 minutes of Manhattan is bound to be “desirable”. We just hit 300 million on the census in this country, do we really expect the numbers in this great city to decrease? Ergo, just as Manhattan once had places you wouldn’t want to be caught in after 5 o’clock, the inevitable gentrification, neat-ification or pacification of this borough continues unabated. Do you folks really think that the tide washing over all areas surrounding bed-stuy will somehow miss those areas that are deemed less desirable? Williamsburg now stands boldly against the dividing line at Flushing Avenue and crosses over frequently, Clinton Hill seems to be expanding daily, Prospect heights is now pushing along Franklin Avenue while Crown Heights continues it’s own renaissance, newly hip Bushwick is crossing over Broadway with hipsters in tow and I need not remind you of Stuyvesant Heights. So you see, that brownstone ain’t looking like such a bad investment at $649,000 after all.
Upper 900s in Stuy Heights has already arrived. Won’t be for every house of course but good ones are pushing that barrier. And yeah, Punx, people read Brownstoner and march zombie-like to Bed Stuy to buy a house. They consider absolutely no other factors. Honestly.
What do you guys think about the upper 900’s in Stuy Heights?
This part of Bedstuy just hasn’t come around yet. Head towards the corner of Throop and you will see why.
Part of the problem with the back yard is that the cellar hatch is so big, and the extension of the house next door makes the whole yard seem even more enclosed and alley-like than it probably really is. Too bad.
If you go from one end of Willoughby to the other, it really is a fascinating street, running the gamut of architectural styles, as well as wealth to seediness. That has little bearing on anything, just an observation.
Unfortunately, if Bed Stuy was a city, this part of it would definitely be on the wrong side of the tracks. SPer is correct on all accounts. Great story about his\her g-g’father.
Go Bed Stuy and Crown Heights North! Some of the best architecture in all of Brooklyn.
I agree with the Northern Crown Heights comment…..some of the streets (prospect place, dean, sterling place) have huge detached mansions and gorgeous rows of brownstones……plus access to the 2,3,5 trains on eastern parkway/Nostrand……..I’d like to think this will be the next boom area.
I love Bed-Stuy but like b’stoner and others I’m only betting on the areas with good A train acess (i.e. within 5 blocks of Fulton St.) Cute house though. It could work for someone who’s not a daily commuter.
The northern and northeastern parts of Bed Stuy are just not that nice. There are a TON of projects, several congregate supportive housing programs, many vacant lots, not a few falling down frame houses and run-down 4 story brick apartment buildings, and lots of cheap, new construction, small two-families with tiny windows and driveways. There’s nowhere to eat and nowhere to buy groceries. This part Bed-Stuy never had good housing stock to begin with, and years of neglect have not improved matters.
Very different from the blocks closer to Fulton which have gorgeous housing stock, not to mention express A stops at Nostrand and Utica, and at least a few amenities here and there.
In a way, the stately part of Bed-Stuy has more in common with northern Crown Heights. I’m thinking of the blocks bounded by Kingston, Nostrand, Atlantic and up the hill toward Eastern Parkway. I believe that at one time, this part of Crown Heights and the once very upscale part of Bed-Stuy were known simply as Bedford.
In the 1910s and 20s, my great grandfather was the minister at the Presbyterian church at Nostrand and Dean, which is called the Bedford Church. The family story is that my grandfather grew up in “Bed-Stuy”, but I think this may be a corruption of my grandfather saying he grew up in Bedford. If you look at the WPA guide to NYC, you will see the area labeled as Bedford. Perhaps when Atlantic Avenue was widened (it couldn’t always have been so wide, could it?), the neighborhood was split.